HeadHunter67

Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a try. I noticed that people often use other parts to similar effect - like airplane tails.

Could you please direct me to where I can learn more about this cubic strut technique for engine mounting? I've seen it mentioned and used elsewhere, but I'm a fairly novice rocket jock (been playing less than 3 weeks) and I'm not sure how to go about looking for more info (I fear that searching using "cubic strut" might give me a lot to sift through). That "S-IVB" tank looks really nice, and Sgt Flyer's spherical fuel tank is equally inspirational. You've both given me new concepts to play with, thank you.

Docking Washers is an interesting plugin for those who need it perfectly accurate. But I tend to just include RCS on my station modules, because I don't use a construction tug (though my station's escape vehicle could serve that purpose if needed) and it allows me to just undock, move about a meter away, roll in RCS and engage SAS to lock it in position and re-dock. If you're making a ring station with an un-modded game, more power to you and best of luck!

Yes, because that's how they steer it! It isn't magic, it's aerodynamics. Your winglets at the top are working because you also have some on the bottom generating lift. Take those bottom ones off and I'll bet your lifter loses a lot of stability and turns worse to boot.

Yesterday, I was off and played KSP all day. I assembled the main components of my space station: Flew a second mission to deliver an escape vehicle and the rest of the crew: (later re-docked into a better position for station balance) And finally flew two more missions to deliver refueling modules to the station: I got a lot more practice in manual docking, learned a bit more about rendezvous (but still not enough to try that part manually) and I have a fully operational orbital fuel depot for future missions!

This is a great thread and a great mission program! I'll admit I still rely on MJ, though I don't let it do all the work for me any more. I am getting better at manual docking and I'm understanding rendezvous better (though I still can't get it all to work manually). I'll keep reading up and practicing. When I think I've got the hang of it, I'll probably try a new save with a similar frame of mind. It's a real achievement when you do something all by hand - even little things like making an orbit that's perfect enough to match with a second craft to dock in space. So when you get to the point of assembling a space station in orbit, it's a real triumph!

"You have a big problem and will not go to space today"... sorry, couldn't resist. If you do this, by all means, remember to put separate parachutes on the hitchhiker! I used this method to evacuate a space station I intended to de-orbit. Everything went well until the command module's chutes unfurled... the link between the command pod and the hitchhiker broke and the 4 unfortunate Kerbals within plunged 500 meters to their demise. But they taught me a valuable lesson for future mission safety, so their deaths were not in vain!

I have to agree with everything Sean said. However, I do like to use mod parts - mainly for the look, and who doesn't like more cool toys? The main reasons I don't really use mod part packs right now are two-fold: First of all, I wind up with a lot of part clutter that I don't ever use; and secondly, the limitations of the game engine encourage running lean on mods - between longer load times and potential for crashes. I know I could solve the first issue somewhat by paring down the packs to just the parts I like, but it's a time-consuming process. If there was a plugin or mod that would let me look through my whole parts catalog and delete parts from my install, I'd probably more often use the mod parts that I do like.

Could you elaborate? I'm not familiar with what you're describing.

If I could use KW with a smaller footprint, I'd gladly re-add it to my mod mix. I'll have to contact him about that.

I'm assuming you mean "house" as in "beat unmerciful", not "accommodate"?

Just doing a straight-up launch from the pad, the capsule alone burned until an altitude of over 30km... which gave it an apoapsis of 164 km! It's a great looking pod, very versatile, I love the passenger room, lots of nifty features... but something honestly doesn't seem right, there.

How is that done?

I find myself retracting my station's panels if I have any idea that there might be a bad docking. Glad I did, too - because my refueling module came within centimeters of a collision with the station. If the panels were out, they'd have been broken.

I can confirm that RCS Build Aid is working fine in 0.21.1 - I will provide screenshots if anyone doubts.

Same here. Or to mouse over something in a video or screenshot expecting a tooltip...

Maybe it's the altitude? I have a station in an almost perfect 100km orbit and one of my crew is practically overjoyed. He's sitting in the cupola with a big old grin on his face (not Jeb, just a regular hire with high courage). None of the 5 aboard look scared at all.

For those having difficulty with the Docking Autopilot: Try disabling any sources of torque on your ship (command pod, reaction wheels etc) before engaging the autopilot. I noticed that it worked much better that way (still not as good as in previous versions though).

The main problem right now is that the Unity engine can't use that much RAM at any rate. Presumably, if Unity made a 64-bit engine and KSP adopted it, we'd be able to utilize more of our existing RAM.

Thanks! This will really come in handy, especially because I'm still having the issue with Subassembly Loader forgetting fuel lines and struts (even though I tried the "perfect" fix suggested in the Zenith thread). Now I can just load the rocket in the VAB, set the decoupler as the root, delete the sample payload, build up and set the new command module as the root when I'm done building, right? If it works the way I am understanding, this will become an invaluable and indisposable part of my mod toolbox for every version to come.

Because having to change things due to case sensitivity is clearly a sign of a "superior" OS...

Thank you thankyou THANK YOU for updating this! KSPX is an essential parts pack to me. Glad to see it updated.

Yeah, docking autopilot was acting really weird for me, too. I eventually just turned it off and did it manually. After all, if the autopilot requires the target to be "rock steady", you really don't need an autopilot anyhow. I tend to use MJ guidance when the situation is beyond my own skills - having a robot for the "easy" jobs is pointless.

I don't want it to be a hardcore space sim - it's my understanding that Orbiter fits that bill much better, and because of that, I never chose to play it. I play games for fun. While I'm impressed by the lengths to which some people will go in the name of immersion and authenticity, I'm not about to don a space suit before playing.

As opposed to your selective suspension of disbelief? Disregard for the incredible density of planetary bodies in KSP and a variety of other things which defy science? If the most unlikely thing to you in KSP is the mountains, we're not going to be able to have an intelligent discussion.